<p>I've been admitted to USC but I didn't apply by the scholarship deadline and as well as being an international I'm getting no money whatsoever. That isn't a problem for the first year and a bit, but I would probably need some sort of aid for the coming years. I plan on taking out some loans.</p>
<p>So my question is: are there a lot of scholarships available for continuing students? (ie. for sophomore year and onwards) Are there the same number of them available for continuing students and entering freshmen, or not? I only saw a handful of them on the website for entering freshman....I'm an architecture major so I know there are a few scholarships available in the school of arch itself. How is the competition for these scholarships? Do you need a stellar 3.8+ GPA or something?</p>
<p>I haven't fully committed to USC yet but I will probably need to find a way to cut costs if I decide to enroll there. Is it worth it...?</p>
<p>I don’t really know how hard they are to get. Remember that there are other ways to cut costs too- get a job on campus, or become an RA (free room and board). (PS, don’t become an RA just for the money. A very bad idea. Do it because you would enjoy it.)</p>
<p>I am not an expert, but I sense the large scholarships (half tuition presidential and full tuition trustees-ex.) are given to a select small group of entering freshmen. There are scholarships given to students beyond freshmen year. However, I sense that these are really smaller amounts of money. I don’t think it is worth it to take $100,000-$150,000. in loans (depending upon if you were able to get some scholarships beyond freshman year and that is a competitive situation, not a guarantee). Therefore, unless you and your family have close to $200,000. ready to go for 4 years (remember there are other expenses such as plane trips home, etc.), I would seriously consider going to a Canaidian university (where tuition is much less than the U.S.). As much as I think USC is a fantastic school, I think you are better off in Canada for your undergraduate education and then use the $50,000. you have now saved up for graduate school.</p>
<p>My D applied for several of the scholarships Nikara references above, but she hasn’t heard back yet, so I don’t know how “hard” they are to get. It is my experience however that yes, in general it takes a “stellar” GPA as well as involvement outside the classroom to be awarded scholarships. Most of those listed above have a 3.2 - 3.5 GPA required to even apply, so I am guessing the awardees exceed those minimums by a significant margin.</p>
<p>Do you have more affordable options available?</p>
<p>@Nikara: Thanks for the link. One question though - are those only available to people with majors in the college of letters, arts and sciences? Thanks for the info about RAs too, didn’t know that. And yes, I plan on getting an on campus job wherever I decide to attend.</p>
<p>@mdcissp: I won’t need to take out over 100k in loans, for sure. If I did, I agree with you, that’s definitely not worth it. I’ve got airfares covered as well (parent is a former airline employee) so my extra costs are already considerably lower than most people in this sense. Staying in Canada isn’t really something I’m considering heavily (decisions don’t even come out till mid-May so either way I have to commit somewhere first) for numerous reasons despite the huge difference in cost. Competition for architecture here is fierce as there are only a handful of them available coupled with the Canadian application system where they (95% of the time) only look at your grades and have distinct cut off marks for you to even be considered for a spot. Couple that with a relocation from halfway around the world that’s left me below or just barely at the cut offs, and I don’t really stand a chance at any architecture programs up here. That’s just my reasoning and I hope you (and others) understand where I’m coming from. </p>
<p>@alamemom: Yes I do, but the school (Illinois Tech) and its program don’t appeal to me as much. This is in terms of like academics and the overall college experience; I think USC wins hands down in both cases. It also shuts a couple doors in my future, so I’m pretty torn in this decision…I was also waitlisted to Rice so I’m wishing and praying that I miraculously make it off the waitlist there as that would be my first choice.</p>
<p>spongebodge, be aware that it’s hard to find a job on campus for internationals because most of the jobs are for work study through financial aid.</p>
<p>You’re lucky you have airfares covered because I’m so tired of looking for cheap airfares for my son. It’s frustrating how the prices keep going up and down (usually down after I’ve already bought them). </p>
<p>I totally understand what you are talking about as s has the same problem last year with the Canadian universities (we’re from Vancouver) with film program. </p>
<p>I’ve heard you can get some really cool jobs through work study. My friend told me he knows people who help out at athletic events, and that he would’ve done work study if he knew what type of jobs people were getting.</p>